CoinDesk
Crypto hardware-wallet maker Ledger has shelved its plans for a U.S. initial public offering, according to two people familiar with the matter, joining a growing list of digital-asset firms cooling on public listings as volatile markets and weaker token prices drain investor appetite. The French firm had retained Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays earlier this year to explore a listing that could have valued it at roughly $4 billion, but no draft S-1 registration statement was ever filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the people said. A Ledger spokesperson declined to comment.
Why it matters
The pause is the clearest signal yet that the 2025 wave of crypto IPOs has lost its tailwind. Kraken, one of the largest U.S. crypto exchanges, paused its own multibillion-dollar listing earlier this year despite having confidentially filed with the SEC in late 2025. BitGo, the only crypto-native company to actually price a 2026 offering, raised about $213 million in January at $18 per share and briefly surged more than 20% on debut — only to retreat below its IPO price, with shares now trading roughly 36% below the offering level. That debut has become the cautionary tale bankers now cite when digital-asset issuers ask about timing.
Market impact
Ledger is not exiting the public-market conversation; it still has options on the table, including a private capital raise. The firm signaled its U.S. commitment in March by hiring former Circle capital-markets executive John Andrews as CFO and opening a New York office anchored by its Ledger Enterprise institutional platform — a multimillion-dollar bet on demand from banks, asset managers and stablecoin issuers for digital-asset infrastructure. But the shelving means the IPO market for crypto-native issuers is now functionally closed to new entrants: no issuer in the cohort is willing to be the next BitGo, and the bankers are the first to say so.
Frequently asked questions
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Why did Ledger pause its U.S. IPO plans?
Ledger paused the listing because volatile equity markets, weaker token prices and lower trading volumes have weighed on investor appetite for crypto IPOs. No draft S-1 registration statement was ever filed with the SEC.
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How much was Ledger potentially worth at IPO?
Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays were retained earlier in 2026 to explore a listing that could have valued the French hardware-wallet maker at roughly $4 billion.
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Which other crypto firms have paused or struggled with IPOs?
Kraken paused its multibillion-dollar U.S. IPO earlier in 2026 after a late-2025 confidential SEC filing, and BitGo — the only crypto-native firm to price a 2026 offering — now trades about 36% below its $18 January IPO price.
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What is Ledger doing instead of going public?
Ledger is continuing its U.S. expansion, opening a New York office anchored by its Ledger Enterprise institutional platform and hiring former Circle executive John Andrews as CFO in March. The company retains the option to raise capital privately.
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What is Ledger's core business?
Ledger makes hardware wallets that let users store cryptocurrencies offline by securing the private keys controlling access to digital assets like bitcoin and ether.
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